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American Colin O'Brady Crosses Antarctica Solo, Without Help

He completed the journey in 53 days.

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Alexandre Meneghini/REUTERS

An American man has become the first person to travel across Antarctica alone and without assistance, according to the BBC. Colin O’Brady completed his death-defying trek in 53 days, beating British Army Captain Louis Rudd in a 921-mile race. “As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided. While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced,” O’Brady said on Instagram. O’Brady, whose Twitter profile says that he lives in Portland, Oregon, and Rudd left from the Ronne Ice Shelf on Nov. 3. They had met several days prior at a hotel bar in Chile, deciding at the time to turn their individual efforts into a race. O’Brady had been told by doctors some 10 years ago that he might not walk normally again after suffering extensive burns during a 2008 trip to Thailand. O’Brady did recover, however, ultimately climbing the highest peaks on each of the seven continents and trekking to the highest point in every U.S. state, the BBC reports.

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Day 54: FINISH LINE!!! I did it! The Impossible First ✅. 32 hours and 30 minutes after leaving my last camp early Christmas morning, I covered the remaining ~80 miles in one continuous “Antarctica Ultramarathon” push to the finish line. The wooden post in the background of this picture marks the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctica’s land mass ends and the sea ice begins. As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided. While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced. I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey. I’m delirious writing this as I haven’t slept yet. There is so much to process and integrate and there will be many more posts to acknowledge the incredible group of people who supported this project. But for now, I want to simply recognize my #1 who I, of course, called immediately upon finishing. I burst into tears making this call. I was never alone out there. @jennabesaw you walked every step with me and guided me with your courage and strength. WE DID IT!! We turned our dream into reality and proved that The Impossible First is indeed possible. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” - Nelson Mandela. #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

A post shared by Colin O'Brady (@colinobrady) on

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